


The Cuddle Experiment

by orphan_account



Category: Sherlock (TV)
Genre: Cuddles, Experiment, Fluff, M/M, Omegle, was written as a roleplay but I turned it into a story
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-18
Updated: 2017-07-18
Packaged: 2018-12-03 09:45:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,899
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11529675
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: Due to Sherlock being very restless and unable to sleep lately, John decides to hold a little experiment of his own in the hopes that it will help his flatmate get the rest he needs.The plot idea for this fic belongs to anonymous. I didn't come up with it.





	The Cuddle Experiment

**Author's Note:**

> Originally written years ago on Omegle with a chat partner. If you read this and go "hey! that was me!" and want to be listed as co-creator, message me here or on tumblr and I will get on that! I absolutely loved this rp and was pretty pissed off when omegle gave me a tech error.

John was lying in Sherlock's usual place on the sofa when Sherlock emerged from the kitchen, and he put out a hand to gesture him over.

"Sherlock, come here, yeah? I want to try something. A sort of experiment, if you will."

Sherlock hesitated, looking over at John with a frown before slowly walking over.

"You?  _You_ want to perform an experiment?" he asked.

"Yeah," John replied. "I figure you've experimented on me enough over the years, so it's time for a bit of a turn around. Two parameters, okay? First, if you're uncomfortable you tell me, and if you're really uncomfortable we stop. Second, if you aren't uncomfortable, you follow through. No quitting because you're bored."

"Deal," Sherlock said, squaring his shoulders and coming to a stop in front of the sofa so he could nod at John. He could handle a little experiment, after all. Really, this was  _John_. How bad could it be? "What do you need me to do?"

"Brilliant," John said with a grin. "All right. So this experiment is happening because you've been restless as hell these past few days, and I know for a fact you didn't sleep at all last night and barely slept the night before. First we've got to get set up, okay?" He shuffled to the edge of the sofa, away from the back. "Take off your shoes and lie in the space between me and the sofa."

Frowning again, Sherlock nevertheless did as he was told and removed his shoes before climbing over John and lying down. It was strange and cramped so he lay on his side facing the other man, trying to take up less space.

"Is this really necessary? What are you going to do, make me try a new meditation technique or something?"

"Bit like that, yeah," John said. "All right. I'm going to move you around a bit. You remember the rules, Sherlock, so tell me if you're uncomfortable or want to stop."

John slid an arm under Sherlock and manoeuvred him so his head was pillowed on John's chest, Sherlock's arm curled around John's middle, and John's arm curled around Sherlock's back.

"There. In place. Are you ready to get started?" he asked.

Sherlock was silent for a moment, shock and confusion seeming to push all other thoughts from his mind. This was... this was a cuddle, wasn't it? Why was John cuddling him? How exactly was this going to help anything?"

"I'm not sure," Sherlock said slowly before clearing his throat. "But go on."

"Right," John said. "So, I have a theory about how to help you when you get like this. Not sleeping, bit frantic, all that. We're going to test it. In ten minute increments, I'll do something to you and you'll rate how you feel on a scale of one to ten. One being really restless, five totally neutral, ten really relaxing." John took out his phone to set a timer. "I want you to try to focus only on what I'm doing to you during that time. Understand, Sherlock?"

It seemed Sherlock's frown was now permanently fixed to his face.

"You're lucky I finished up my own experiment half an hour ago," he muttered.

The sneaky doctor must have planned it and waited for the perfect moment to call him over. Part of Sherlock wished he did have something else to be doing so he could rattle off an excuse and leave, but he had already agreed to the terms of John's experiment.

"I understand the terms of the experiment," Sherlock said. "Continue."

John tugged the throw off the back of the sofa, draping it over both of them and then starting the timer. "Close your eyes for me. Just concentrate on what I do to you," he said, slowly running the flat of his hand up and down Sherlock's back. He set up a gentle rhythm with light pressure.

Sherlock kept his eyes open for a few moments, startled by the hand on his back, but then forced himself to do as he was told and close them. It felt strange. He felt like he was a little boy again, being held by Mummy when his mind got too loud and she helped him focus on individual things until he could sort through his thoughts again. But John also felt different. Strong and comforting. 

John was relaxed, timing his motions with his steady breathing. When the alarm sounded, he was surprised the time had passed so quickly, but shut it off and settled his hand in the hollow between Sherlock's shoulder blades.

"All right," he said, his voice quiet. "That's the first bit done. You can think it over and tell me your rating when you're ready."

Having been a bit surprised by the alarm as well, Sherlock opened his eyes but otherwise stayed where he was. He was hesitant to give John the rating, feeling like he shouldn't have given in so easily. "About..." For a moment he considered lying. But this was an experiment and it would be his fault if the results were incorrect. "About seven point five."

John smiled. "Good. So just for the record, before you came over here, what would you have said your rating was then?" he asked, setting the next alarm on his phone in preparation for the second stage.

"In regards to my state of relaxation? Probably a one," Sherlock said. Damn it all, whatever John was doing seemed to be working and they'd only just started.

"Right," John said, a bit startled by the low number. "Okay, next bit. Remember you can stop any time." He pressed start on the timer. "Close your eyes for me and focus, as before."

This time he carefully enveloped Sherlock in both of his arms, holding him close. John had long suspected Sherlock of being touch starved and didn't want to overwhelm him, so once he had him in the warm hug, he held still.

Sherlock closed his eyes again, but when John put his arms around him he felt himself tensing up nervously. This wasn't a soothing hand like before, this was a  _hold_. This was a hug. Sherlock had had hugs in the past but never really enjoyed them very much. The cuddle from before had been different as they were more just enjoying being close to each other, but this was... too close.

"I'm very uncomfortable," Sherlock said quickly, opening his eyes and pushing against John's arms.

Immediately letting go, John peered at Sherlock with a worried expression. "All right, do you want to get up?" he asked.

"No," Sherlock said, beginning to relax against John's chest again. "I just didn't like  _that_. Your arms felt very restricting. I give it a rating of one. You may continue with something else if you wish."

John nodded and reset the timer. "Okay, so nothing restricting, yeah?" It was more to himself than Sherlock, as he started the timer again and then curled an arm loosely around the other man. "Close your eyes again," he said, this time settling a hand in Sherlock's hair and carding through it gently.

Sherlock let out a sigh as he felt John's hand in his hair. It felt good. Different, certainly, but rather soothing. He couldn't actually remember the last time someone had touched him like that - had it ever happened? He didn't even notice that he was drifting off until the sound of the alarm startled him and he flinched.

"Uh, nine," he said blearily.

"Nine?" John repeated, switching off the alarm and then returning his hand to Sherlock's head. "That's... well, that's quite relaxed. One last thing and then we'll call it a day. For this one, I need you to move a bit. I want you mostly lying on your stomach, covering my right side. I think you might be more comfortable that way. You can put your arms wherever they feel best. Curled up, around me, wherever. Once you're settled I'll go back to this-" He tugged gentle on one of the Sherlock's curls. "-and we'll start the timer."

Before he could respond, Sherlock found himself yawning and quickly hid his head to try and hide it. That was embarrassing. Was he going to fall asleep on top of John? No, certainly not. He needed to stay awake so he could think about how relaxed he felt and rate the experiment. Shifting around, he followed John's instructions before resting his arms around John lightly and then closed his eyes.

"Ready."

John started the timer, tucking the throw around Sherlock, and then returned to running his hand through Sherlock's curls. He closed his own eyes, his breathing deep and even, and lost himself in the sensation of a warm, sleepy Sherlock lying mostly on top of him.

When the alarm sounded again and John turned it off, Sherlock could barely drag himself out of sleep properly to say anything. He sighed, eyes heavy and begging to remain shut, as his fingers curled against John's shirt. He didn't want to get up. He didn't want to move.

"You all right?" John murmured, smiling at the drowsy detective. "Because I'm knackered, so if it's all the same to you I think I'll just sleep here for a while."

Sherlock shifted against John to get more comfortable before settling, mumbling something nonsensical. He couldn't remember the last time he'd actually  _wanted_ to sleep, or the last time he hadn't had to stare at the ceiling for hours before he finally could. Pushing through the exhaustion, he forced himself to say, "Ten," before giving in and falling into a deep sleep.

John smiled at the final rating Sherlock had given, resting his chin on the crown of Sherlock's head. It wasn't long before he too drifted to sleep, feeling warm and content with his flatmate's arms around him.

Sherlock had no idea what the time was when he finally blinked his eyes open again, despite the daylight streaming in through the windows to give him a clue. All he did know was that he felt fantastic, warm, and soft. As he shifted and noticed John, the events of the previous night came back to him and his eyes widened as he realised he  _had_ fallen asleep with John on the sofa.

The other man yawned as he awoke, stretching as much as he could before running a hand down Sherlock's back.

"Morning," he said. "I didn't expect to sleep the whole night out here, but I'm not sorry that we did. How are you feeling today?"

Pushing himself to sit up, Sherlock looked down at John before averting his gaze bashfully. He'd never slept in the arms of another person before. When he was little he'd crawled into Mycroft's bed a few times, but they'd never embraced.

Clearing his throat, Sherlock finally answered. "I feel... good. Rested. Thank you."

"Me too, actually," John said, untangling himself from Sherlock and standing up. "And look... If you need that again, you can have it, yeah? Any time. Just ask."

"Thank you, John," Sherlock repeated, looking up at the other man and feeling a strong sense of gratitude. He had almost forgotten how beneficial a good night's sleep could be. "I mean it."

"You're welcome," John said with a wide grin before setting off towards the kitchen. "Tea?" he called over his shoulder.

"Tea sounds lovely."

**Author's Note:**

> I have easily hundreds of omegle roleplays saved in a secret tumblr account. Let me know if you think I should post more of them on here for you guys to read.  
> (johnlock, hamex, mormor, sterek, etc)


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